I’ve learned a few things from my 2 years in the vending business. One thing I’ve learned is that double heads are definitely the way to go. When I started out, I bought an already existing route of 18 used vending machines that were triple heads – the kind with one top. I loved the idea of triple heads; it thought I was giving my locations more candy selections which would naturally make me more money. It took awhile for me to do the math, but I finally learned that more selections sometimes actually means less money. Unless you have very busy locations, triple heads are simply too much vending machine for most locations. I have a lot of product waste. I, of course, tried filling the head only a fraction of the way up, but this doesn’t work either. It makes the machines look unattended and doesn’t show the product in all its full glory.
I’m going to keep the triple head, because, well… because they’re paid for. But I’m gradually making the move to double heads. One thing I like about the double head is that the candy looks real nice, I never considered it before, but this may actually increase sales. In the one top triples, you can only see the candy from the front. Does this matter? I don’t know for sure, but I did swap out a couple triples on my route for doubles and my profits increased significantly. Significantly! Is it because the machines were newer? Is it because the candy is more visible? Don’t know, but obviously it’s a change I’m happy with.
The best thing about using individual heads is that they can be set up as singles, doubles, triples or racks as well. This gives you a lot more flexibility with your machines, a flexibility that my single top triples sorely lack. The individual heads of these machines also make changing out candy selections much easier. With my machines I have to scoop it out the top or drop it out the back, but with the individual heads, I can just take off the entire head and dump it out. It’s very quick and easy.
I’m sure my triples will be OK for some locations, but I won’t be buying any more. Individual heads are definitely the way to go.
You need to know that some people have been burned by vending business opportunity scams, or vending biz ops scams, and because of that the vending machine business has left a bad taste in their mouth. A biz ops scam is when someone offers to sell a machine to you as well as install it in a good location for you. The machines they sell are usually OK, but they’re way over priced and the earnings claims they make are entirely false. These companies will indeed provide vending machines and install them in different locations, but you need to do your research and realize that you can save yourself quite a bit of money by entering into vending a different way and not relying on these companies. Many people feel ripped off and leave the vending business entirely after having dealt with these scammers and giving up lots of money to them.